Coproduction of quality standards for youth mental health in primary care

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Lisa Burscheidt reports on a mixed methods study that produced user-generated quality standards for youth mental health in primary care.

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Report highlights challenges facing CCGs as they take on new co-commissioning responsibilities

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This new report from The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust provides guidance for CCGs working in partnership with GPs and local authorities, as new co-commissioning arrangements are launched.

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Prescribing antipsychotics in primary care: new study highlights frequent off-label use

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Josephine Neale reports on a recent cohort study that finds less than half of UK prescriptions for antipsychotics are issued for main licensed conditions (e.g. psychosis or bipolar disorder). The research provides a reminder about the dangers of prescribing antipsychotics to people with dementia.

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Psychotherapy for UK military veterans: demographics and clinical outcomes

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Mark Smith reports on a study of psychotherapy for UK military veterans, using an IAPT service, which focuses on the demographic characteristics and clinical outcomes of early service leavers and veterans.

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Experiences of the osteoarthritis GP consultation, attitudes and beliefs to OA

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Do GPs tell people that osteoarthritis or ‘wear and tear’ is a normal part of ageing and nothing can be done? This recent narrative review sought to find out.

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Six out of ten GP surgeries are signed up to the Directed Enhanced Scheme in England, but 40% of patients with learning disabilities did not get a health check

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The Directed Enhanced Scheme offers reimbursement to GP surgeries to carry out annual health checks for people with learning disabilities. Here, we report on a cohort study which looked at the impact of the scheme over a three year period.

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Collaborative care for depression: psychological interventions, alone or in combination with medication, offer additional benefits

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Ioana Cristea reviews a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of collaborative care for depression, looking to identify factors predicting improvements. The study finds that collaborative care successfully improves both patient outcomes and the process of care for depression.

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Collaborative care for adolescent depression: new RCT shows promise

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Jennifer Laidlaw writes her debut blog on a recent RCT in JAMA about collaborative care for adolescent depression in primary care. The trial concludes that collaborative care is both feasible and effective in improving outcomes, but Jennifer highlights a number of limitations and questions for future research.

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Reducing benzodiazepine prescribing in primary care

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Liz Hughes summarises two recent studies (1 systematic review and 1 RCT) that both investigate brief interventions for reducing the use of benzodiazepines in primary care.

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